On August 8th, 2019, The Consular Office of Japan in Anchorage partnered with the World Trade Center Anchorage to hold an event showcasing Japanese Technologies.
Mr. Greg Wolf, Executive Director of the World Trade Center Anchorage gave the opening remarks.
The first set of presentations focused on Japanese approaches to foster disaster resilient societies.
Assistant Professor Natsuko Chubachi, from Tohoku University, presented on the research and DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) activities of the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS).
Professor Yuichi Ono also from Tohoku University, spoke about lessons learned from the March 11th Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. He also spoke of the World BOSAI Forum that will be held in Sendai on November 9-12 this year.
(The Consular Office of Japan has copies of 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions of the IRIDeS newsletter and leaflets on World BOSAI Forum. Please contact the Consular Office to obtain them.)
(Attached is one of the handouts at the event titled Guide to disaster management measures in Japan, which describes technologies and know-how Japan could provide to Alaskan communities with a view to assisting Alaska in fostering disaster-resilient societies.)
The second set of presentations focused on Japan’s cutting-edge technologies that could be useful for growing and diversifying Alaska’s economy - particularly the agriculture sector.
Mr. Masafumi Aoki, President of the Alaska Trading Company, Japan, discussed the applications of Japan’s CAS (deep freezing) technology to better improve Alaska’s seafood export quality for the Japanese market. He also discussed ways Alaska’s primary industries can maximize their advantages by making good use of Japan’s technologies.
Mr. Setsuzo Tanaka, Director/Chief Technology Officer at D&T Farm, Inc. spoke about new technologies developed in Japan that allow crops to grow in hostile conditions. His method is the “freeze-thaw awakening method” which allows crops to grow outside their typical environment by activating dormant genes leftover from the ice age. One application of this is bananas with edible peels produced at his farm in Japan.
(Please discover more information about the innovative deep freezing technology at:
https://web-japan.org/trends/11_tech-life/tec181202.html )
Following the showcase presentations a networking lunch was held.